Just call me Christopher Columbus

i've lived in several houses throughout central florida my entire life. but the majority of my life was spent living in the Kaywood House in Sanford with my mom and little sister. i loved growing up there, but sometimes it would get stressful and i would need to escape and blow off steam. 
i found that i process better when i walk.. so one day i ended up walking all the way down to my home church two miles away.
afterward, that became my "go-to" spot to hang out with Jesus..
at first, i would just travel down to the church's pond.. but after construction, no matter my method of travel, i always ended up at interstate 4's overpass behind the church.

in high school i thought the overpass was the coolest industrial landmark in all of town, other than downtown and the water tower of course. 🙂 
i enjoyed (and still enjoy) running across the entire length of the overpass, trying not to "get hit by" the 8 lanes of cars rushing by underneath– a game i call, Not So Real-Life Frogger.
i loved (and still love) watching all the cars come back home around dinner time from Orlando, trying to imagine each passengers home life: who are they, what's their life like, what they're having for dinner….
i've cried happy tears, angry tears, and sad tears up there.
i've sang up there. i've yelled up there. i wrote a good 45% of all of my journal entries ever up on that bridge thing (and i've got quite the collection of journals going) it was my special place to be with Jesus..

yet, after all that time spent at the overpass–there was one thing i never did.
i never ventured into the woods that bordered it's sidewalk.
i always wondered what it would be like walking around back there–granted, i've explored my fair share of woods in FL and i can tell you, unless you're in north FL, all the woods look the same–but because i avoided them for so long, the wheels in my head started to turn, and i started to think they were the coolest, scariest, most magical woods in all of central FL.

whenever i would pass by, i often imagined what would happen if i were to go back there..
…stumbling upon voldemort drinking unicorns blood, or picturing myself with a huge smile while riding an ent from middle earth often flashed through my mind (pushing up my nerd glasses…)

i would always see the paths leading into the unknown, but was always too scared to take them.

before teaching middle school youth this past wednesday at St. Peters, i needed to clear my head and hang out with my Lord.
as per usual, i walked the paved trail up to the overpass. except this time as i walked, i felt a strange new pull to go follow the beaten trails into the mysterious dark. …maybe it was my new found sense of freedom: "to live is Christ, to die is gain" (the ultimate "y.o.l.o"/carpe diem…kinda?), maybe it was the Holy Spirit, maybe my prolonged curiosity finally got the best of me.. but after reaching the overpass, i decided to go back and finally enter into the Forbidden Forest. (last HP reference, i swear.)

i probably had the biggest/stupidest smile on my face as my feet left the pavement onto grass. joggers gave me a double-take as i crept slowly into the brush. my heart was overflowing with excitement as i followed my new path..
i finally came to point where the narrow trail came into a clearing. as i stepped through, squirrels scattered all around me.

i was so excited to finally and officially be in the woods i ripped the earphones from my ears (sorry Josh Garrels) and just stood in silence, encountering the stillness of the Lord and the majesty of His quiet presence. 
then after a few minutes i started to walk again and sing praises to Jesus.
the pine needle forest floor crackled under my feet, the trees swayed above me, and i occasionally had to push aside the stray tree branch away from my face.
it was bliss.